Vintage Literature Project: Introduction

[Tracey, Yorkshire White Rose.]

Please welcome our new moderator, Tania, who will be running this project.

[Tania, Gloucestershire Wild Daffodil.]

Thank you Tracey.

We seem to be living in a fantastic time for Vintage/Middlebrow fiction with several publishers/imprints bringing lots of forgotten books back out into the world.The Grandmamma of these is of course Virago with their Modern Classics, with Persephone Books snapping at her heels. These are the two publishers who first got me into Middlebrow literature. Nowadays we have several more who have recently joined in with the 'Furrowed Middlebrow', an imprint of Dean Street Press, with Scott from the Furrowed Middlebrow' blog; Handheld Press, and the British Library Women Writers series which is being curated by Sinob Thomas of the 'Stuck in a Book' Blog.

[Brenda]

This is a wonderful project and I’m looking forward to it! Tania has opened up my world to this section of literature, which I’m really falling in love with, so I’m excited to whatever this has in store. Thank you Tania for taking this on!! 😊😊

[Jess]

Love this project, Tania! Thanks for leading us on it. I’m such a fan of all these publishers and looking forward to reading more from them with the group.

[Tania, Gloucestershire Wild Daffodil.]

Thank you. I think for now the plan is to get the information out there and see what people are actually interested in.

[Elke]

I love this project, Tania! I am a huge Persephone and Furrowed Middlebrow fan. I look forward to learning more about the others you mentioned!

[Tracey, Yorkshire White Rose.]

Elke wrote: "I love this project, Tania! I am a huge Persephone and Furrowed Middlebrow fan. I look forward to learning more about the others you mentioned!"

Yes me too. Tania has been our resident authority on these books for all these years and I am looking forward to what books she will highlight for us, and of course, recommend as a group read.
Also, keep us up to date with the latest releases.

[Michaela]

Great project, thanks Mod Tania! I´m quite new to these, and don´t know if they´re all available outside the UK/US, but I´ll happily join in!
Btw love all your lovely names Mods! :)

[Tracey, Yorkshire White Rose.]

Michaela wrote: "Great project, thanks Mod Tania! I´m quite new to these, and don´t know if they´re all available outside the UK/US, but I´ll happily join in!
Btw love all your lovely names Mods! :)"

Thank you for mentioning the names. I thought it would be a fun thing to do to let members know a bit about us. Each of the flowers is the flower of the county or state in which we either were born or now live in. (Or maybe both)

[Michaela]

Sorry to ask so late, but is the kind of books we´re reading called Middlebrow Fiction? as opposed to highbrow or something? I could use a good name for my shelf containing these books. :)

[Tania, Gloucestershire Wild Daffodil.]

Michaela wrote: "Sorry to ask so late, but is the kind of books we´re reading called Middlebrow Fiction? as opposed to highbrow or something? I could use a good name for my shelf containing these books. :)"

I think the term Middlebrow is fairly loose, it is as opposed to Highbrow, and was o be used a bit sneeringly, Virginia Woolf used to use it as an insult to writers she didn't care for. Nowadays it does tend to apply to these types of 'domestic' books, which are largly written by women, (but not always), focusing on day to day lives rather than the wider world. I do have a Middlebrow shelf.

[Michaela]

Thanks for the explanation Tania! :)

[Tania, Gloucestershire Wild Daffodil.]

You're welcome. Hope it made sense. Tracey already has a great many of these authors in the Author A to Z lists.

[Philina]

The flower names are brilliant!

[Ruth]

Thank you Moderator Tania, for leading this
project, introducing us to these fabulous
publishing houses.
I'm also very excited about this Vintage
Teacup ride. 😀